Committed children (for want of a better description)

swimming is a huge commitment 3nations. Very glad mine weren't that good chose other pastimes!

Very few swimmers mentioned on this thread- despite having to get up at 5am to do 2 hours in the pool before school requiring huge commitment from both parents and children! My DD is 12 and does 2 hours x 6 times per week in the pool plus 2 x 1 hour gym/aerobic training, plus competitions at least once a month taking all weekend.
No, she is never going to be an Olympic swimmer- basically even if she had the talent, she doesn't have the overriding desire to win. But- through swimming she has a brilliant group of like minded friends of both sexes from different schools throughout the city and in a range of ages. In their down time they go to the movies/ shopping / bowling/ sleepovers together like any other teenagers. She is very disciplined about getting homework/ music practice done as she has only so many hours in the day to sleep/ eat/ swim to fit it all in and is top of her class and on the honour roll at school. I think it gives tremendous confidence, self esteem, time management social and competitive skills- learning to be a good loser/ be part of a team/ try your best - as well as a very positive and healthy attitude to food/ body shape/ fitness etc. So despite the sacrifices of time, money and sleep, I think it is worth every minute.

coming to this thread late. Also got a committed (dancing) child... until a couple of years ago she had a lot of different activities - football, netball, freestyle (disco) as well as ballroom and latin. Got to a level where something had to give as she was going to have to do football/netball to county level to even keep her in the school teams; and freestyle show rehearsals were conflicting with ballroom/latin comp prep (in same dance school) So she's now only focusing on ballroom/latin. I'd like her to have a wider variety of activities, but not easy at a certain level to balance it all, especially as they were all team things, so would let others down if dropping out of a match/comp due to conflicts

Hi KatyMac - I thought you'd managed to make life more manageable recently buy I see not reading this!

For us, it's seasonal - the term starts off looking ok then each term reaches a crescendo of music performances - because of all her diff groups it can be four performances in the space of a week for a couple of weeks. So just when I think we've got it under control, it all falls apart again and life gets manic. Lst term was particularly bad as she had extra shows in Cardiff which I hadn't planned for - two days apart with a London show in between. Putting lots of miles on the car.

But now the older two DC at uni, it feels calmer - only one child to ferry around. My most nightmare time was when both the girls did competitive ballroom and Latin dancing - four classes/team practices a week on top of everything else. I look back and seriously don't know how we did it. So DD's current music doesn't seem so bad ( even tho she was at school at 8 this morning to play in assembly and has a concert tonight too).

Of course, just when I'm ready to chuck it all in dd1s singing teacher comes out and tells me how promising dd is and she's there actually looking happy for once so I paste the smile on and nod and say yes singing festivals would be great......

At the moment it feels like I should be committed (to an asylum!). Have just about recovered from the dance school show-made dozens of costumes, backstage managed for three of the four shows, juggled the two dds who were in it and the one who doesn't dance. Now it's exam term and dd1 is doing six dance classes plus a singing lesson each week plus festivals. I can't really afford it, dd1 doesn't want to do anything else (like schoolwork) and it's making me really stressed .

We have a few difficult decisions to make over the next year.

Dd is in Year 5 and we apply for senior school in September. She is very academic but a dreamboat (always planning her next dance routine instead of concentrating in class) she gets 80-90% in maths tests with minimal effort. She does get quite a bit of flack from some of the other kids but handles iot quite well (she has stopped telling them some stuff). Today all her friends went off to a singing workshop day only 12 places names out of hat) and one of them was a bit catty as she walked past them lining up waiting for the minibus.

She is on track to go to an independent selective school but we have the chance for her to audition for a specialist performing arts school with a substantial fee remission. However she would audition for the drama strand which would mean she would have to give up all of her dance. Dd loves dance but isn't of the calibre for this school's dance course which although it covers all forms if dance plus drama/singing the children are chosen through classical ballet audition.

On the one hand I feel that at such a school she would no longer be an oddball and would be with other like minded children but I am not sure that giving up her dance would be right for her. She also does not at the moment want to perform as a career but wants to study politics at Oxford!!!! She would love it at this school and it is good academically but no where near the school she is due to go to and their a level provision is sketchy as most 16 plus students go on to study the level 5 or 6 dance & professional theatre diploma rather than a levels.

Foofy, it is so hard for boys. There is a boy at dd's dance school who reached the final few for the scholarship at Sylvia Young, so near but so far. The boys at dd's school can be really cruel to her sometimes I guess they would be even more so with another boy.

KatyMac. I think that's a good idea. I might have to give that a go.

What doesn't help though is that the children in his class know he sings and does Drama and give him a hard enough time about it. It really gets him down. He daren't tell anybody about the Ballet and Tap. They'd make mincemeat out of him.

He has one more year in primary then I can get him away to a new school. We have chosen a secondary which focuses on academic and performing arts equally. Just hope he gets in.

Oh KatyMac I think committed children sums it up nicely.

Our DS(10) has 4 and 1/2 hours of dance on a Thursday (limbering ballet, tap, modern, show work) on Saturday show choir and drama, Friday is street dance and Tuesday is Glee club.

He's gone from top of the class child who adored school and the sense of achievement he got there, to a child who barely tolerates school because he wants to be at the academy. Like he's marking time at school until he can escape and go dance.
We are thrilled he has something he loves so much but I worry about his apathy towards school and quite frankly the cost.

Dd(3) now does Ballet, tap and show work on a Saturday because she was so dreadfully jealous of her brother. When we went to pick him up she would crash the class and dance at the back.

The last show was in April and between costumes for them both, make up, tickets, photos, DVD etc I just couldn't calculate how much.
BUT we'll continue to pay as long as we can.
He now wants 1:1 vocal training as there is a showcase in October and he wants to sing solo.

I worry that there must be a point where we have to say no more classes enough is enough but he lives for these classes. I don't know.
Now DD is showing signs of being the same.
We have been misconstrued as being pushy or indulgent. If only people knew how we worry. About him being burnt out, about p e day not being able to afford it.

We went to London for the weekend. When we got to Shaftsbury Avenue he informed us that that is where we will see him when he is older.

3 "committed children here" . Mainly music, though DS would want to be very committed to his rugby if only he didn't get injured so much LOL.

THey are 18/16/12. THe 16yr old is having a term off his adult choir (mainly for GCSEs buit also his concert orchestra concert clashes with the choral one!) .I nag a bit re practice but mostly let them sort their time management out themselves.

DD1 (18) is now at uni, and as far a s I can tell, being a kid who has had a lot of calls on her time from quite young has set her up well for independence. She can study and get top marks as well as holding a choral scholarship (practices, services , concerts, some extra events too) and socializing with the best of them as well (OK perhaps not getting completely legless on a Saturday knowing she has to be up and singing on a Sunday, but that's no bad thing!).

If any of them weren't coping academically I would take a long hard look at the extra curricular stuff.

What do they miss out on- not a lot- TV time maybe but actually iplayer etc has come at the right time- they can watch what they want when they can watch it.

We had 3 hours of Stagecoach on Saturday then traipsed to Stockport for 2nd round auditions for a show. She got one of the leading child parts!!

However she flagged when we got back and didn't feel well. Problem is she needs her sleep but feels that she should be allowed to stay up later like her friends now she is 10. They go to bed at 9.30 apparently. Her bedtime is 8pm

Ah, first comp of the year here. Dd2 got silver in her first ever solo, so she is chuffed. She was v nervous. All of the group stuff is on for the rest of the week, so in and out of the city. Her technical side was up there, but she definitely not as polished as everyone else, so has loads of work to do.

She did make me laugh though. I picked her up from school and she was in her wellies. No other shoes except her taps with her (and no taps allowed to be worn except backstage), so she wandered around looking like she'd just got in from mucking out, except for the fact she was in full stage make up... Definitely country girl meets city. She's now remembered that she's supposed to keep flip flops in her bag. we got back at 11.15 last night, and she's supposed to be doing a presentation about her mentorship experience and the effects of anaesthia on animals tomorrow. Tonight is going to be fun...

HSMM - well done for her getting some independence re hair/ make - up etc... V impressive!

Good idea Katymac, my DD1 is definitely a "committed" child. She is only 7 and doing a lot, this is because things have built up overtime and she has been unwilling to drop anything - in fact it is a constant battle not to pick up other activities.

Dance & music are her main things: ballet, tap, modern: this summer she has Grade 1 in all three....then in the autumn is her Grade 1 piano. She is also in an orchestra for her violin. All a bit mad if you ask me!

She also has 3 siblings - the younger two don't do anything yet, her brother does violin and piano only at the moment....

It does all cost a lot of money, I keep a spreadsheet now to remind myself in a few years' time how mad we were!!!!

DD spent last week at a dance festival. I couldn't take her, so I was going to cancel. She arranged a lift with a friend and sorted out all her own hair, makeup, costumes, music, etc. Didn't get her best marks ever for most of her dances, but did do fantastically with her National Dance, so she was really happy. She started early in the morning each day (she is not a morning person) and got home very late, but was still ready to go the next day. She had a great time with all her dancing friends. She would dance every day if I could afford it if I would let her.